Life Happens…

HI Darlings

I have been very absent as of late, and I wanted to pop in. I feel like I owe my readers an apology, as well as an explanation for not being around, not because I feel bad about it (which I do!), but because I wanted to shed some light on what has been happening in my life over the last few months.

As most of you know, in March this year I made the decision to ‘leave the nest’ and take my first step into ‘the real world’. I moved into my first townhouse, determined to make it on my own from here on out. It took me a few months to find a rhythm, and I was ready to pave the road to my future. 8 months later, I got an email from the owner of the place I was renting, and he informed me that he wanted to sell his property even though I had 4 months left of my lease. What ensued was a chaotic, and emotionally draining 6 weeks as I was harassed, bullied, and inconvenienced by estate agents who had no desire to take my LIFE, and what they were king to it, into consideration. So, the place was sold, and I was told I had one month to find a new place – I was supposed to get two months, but hey, my landlord at the time couldn’t be bothered, even though he himself is an attorney. Life is ironic that way. Anyway, I found a place, and on the 25th of October I packed my life up, and moved into a new place. I tried my best to be optimistic, but lets face it, there’s very little to be optimistic about when your life has been uprooted against your will. Nevertheless, I made the moat of it, and grabbed my new adventure by the horns, ready to give it all I had.

I’d been living in the new place for a week when it came to my attention that there were no phone lines, which meant I had no access to the internet – this disconnected me from my online network for a long time, and it has in fact had a negative impact on my work.

Why am I telling you this? Because life happened, and I was unprepared. I had every intention of getting two more books out before the end of the year – Fade Into You (Beautiful #3), and The Line Between – but due to circumstances I couldn’t get a handle on, I am unable to deliver. And that is why I am apologizing. I am not one to make promises, and not keep true to them, but sadly I allowed too many things to mess with my mojo. As a writer, I try to set realistic deadlines, as well as keep my readers happy, and I wish I could say that I have succeeded – but I can’t, and I haven’t.

Under normal circumstances, I would never bring this up, but I can’t help it, because I notice everything. My author page has lost, and continues to lose, ‘likes’ and I’m not entirely sure why. I can only assume it is due to my absence, and my inability to deliver on the promise to have two  more books out this year. This bothers me, so much so that it’s what drove me to write this post. Am I asking you to help me get the ‘likes’ back up? No. What I’m asking for is some understanding, and maybe even a little compassion given that the past few weeks have been tough for me. Among all the chaos of moving, and getting steeled all over again, I also lost the flash stick with ALL my work on it, and after crying hysterically for three consecutive days (that’s no exaggeration! Ask my editor!), I washed my Big Girl Panties and put them on in the hopes that I could pull myself back together before the end of the year closed in on me. With a bit of luck, and a tremendous amount of support from those closest to me, I found my feet after weeks of feeling beaten down, and took a seat in my office chair, ready to get back to my first and only love – writing.

I am incredibly grateful for the readers who have stuck by me, and who send me messages asking about new books, as well as give me praise for the books I’ve already written. There is nothing more humbling than hearing that someone loved my books, I can’t put into words how much that means.

So, for what it’s worth, I am truly sorry if any of my readers have felt let down, and hope that the next book I publish will be worth the wait. Early feedback has made me believe in my ability, and given me a much needed confidence boost.

That being said, I will have a cover reveal for you all soon, and can’t wait to show you my vision for The Line Between.

Sending lots of love and gratitude from South Africa.

Tam